Kudus— Historic news has arrived from the world of international education. The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen) of the Republic of Indonesia, Abdul Mu'ti, announced that Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, has officially opened its first undergraduate study program in Indonesian.
The announcement was made in his remarks at the Reflection event for the 113th anniversary of Muhammadiyah and the 27th anniversary of Muhammadiyah University of Kudus (UMKU), held at the UMKU Crystal Building on Saturday, November 22.
Abdul Mu'ti revealed that the newly opened study program immediately received an overwhelming response from the Egyptian public. A total of 350 Egyptian students registered and chose the Indonesian language major as their focus of study. He said this phenomenon demonstrates that the Indonesian language is gaining increasing recognition and strong interest globally.
"The first time the Indonesian language study program was opened at Al-Azhar, 350 Egyptian students immediately registered and took the major," he said.
He explained that the opening of an Indonesian language study program at one of the world's oldest and most prestigious Islamic universities was an important milestone. This step strengthened the position of Indonesian as a language with strategic and cultural value that is increasingly recognized internationally.
Abdul Mu'ti said that currently, 57 countries worldwide offer Indonesian language instruction for foreign speakers, both through courses and formal study programs at universities. He believed that the growing global interest in Indonesian is inseparable from the hard work of the Indonesian government and various institutions that continue to promote the internationalization of the national language.
He emphasized that the successful inclusion of Indonesian in the academic structure of Al-Azhar University is the result of a long-standing collaboration between the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and the Indonesian government in championing the dignity of the national language. Abdul Mu'ti reiterated Indonesia's ambitious goal for 2045: to make Indonesian one of the official languages of the United Nations (UN).
"We have a big goal for 2045, when Indonesia celebrates 100 years of independence, to fight for Indonesian to become one of the official languages of the UN," he emphasized.
In his speech, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education also emphasized the importance of language sovereignty and introduced the slogan for the Indonesian language struggle: "Proud to be born and die with Indonesian." For him, linguistic identity is part of the nation's identity that must be preserved and strengthened from generation to generation.
Besides discussing language, Abdul Mu'ti also touched on the importance of balancing material progress and spiritual health in building a sustainable nation. He noted that many developed Western countries experience spiritual emptiness despite being materially prosperous. He cited Japan as an example, a developed nation that continues to face social challenges and issues with the life satisfaction of its citizens, demonstrating that well-being is not solely measured by economic aspects.
"Many surveys show that countries known as welfare states have societies that are not necessarily happy," he said.
He also highlighted the global trend of increasing spiritual search and decreasing numbers of atheists and agnostics. In his view, this shift indicates that religious values are again gaining traction among the global community, even in regions previously known for their lack of religious beliefs.
"People who have a religious foundation tend to live happier lives than those without a spiritual foundation," he said.
At the end of his speech, Abdul Mu'ti emphasized the importance of national education in developing a young generation that excels not only in science and technology, but also in morals, ethics, and spirituality.
He believes that education should produce a generation that is better than both the present and the past, and capable of practicing virtuous values in daily life, including those contained in the Quran.
He considered the opening of the Indonesian Language Study Program at Al-Azhar University not only an achievement but also a crucial momentum in strengthening Indonesia's cultural diplomacy internationally. With the increasing recognition of Indonesian at a global university like Al-Azhar, Indonesia's path to becoming an official language of the United Nations by 2045 is now closer.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
